UPPER DARBY — The wife of the township man who early Tuesday found a little girl abducted from her Philadelphia kindergarten classroom on Monday morning believes it was fate.

“I think no other person was supposed to be there at that time besides my husband,” Janie Myers, 25, said of her Good Samaritan husband, who cuddled and protected the 5-year-old until police responded to his 911 call. “I thank God it was my husband. I’m just so proud of him.”

The child was taken from Bryant Elementary School at 60th and Cedar avenues in Philadelphia shortly after 8 a.m. Monday by an unidentified woman in a black burqa, according to police.Police said the suspect went into the school Monday a short time after the girl’s mother had dropped her off there. The woman signed in with a hall monitor — using an illegible signature — and then went straight to the girl’s classroom.

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“She indicated that she was the child’s mother,” said Philadelphia Capt. John Darby, of the special victim’s unit. “And that she was going to take the child to breakfast.”

The suspect apparently knew and targeted the girl, Darby said, but the girl did not know her; however the girl appeared to go willingly.

An Amber Alert was broadcast around 9 p.m. because the child was not reported missing until after school ended.

Nelson Mandela Myers, who works as a sanitation worker in Norristown, Montgomery County, was walking on 69th Street Boulevard toward the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby at about 4:40 a.m. Tuesday.

“I was about 10 minutes away from my house when I heard what sounded like a cat,” Nelson said, adding that it was a little later than his usual time to walk to the 69th Street Terminal to catch the train to Norristown. “I’m just glad I was there at the right time. I was on the other side of the street. What made me cross the street was her calls for help. The closer I got to the playground I could hear, ‘Help! Help!’ I was shocked. I seen the little girl underneath the slide. She was the only one in there. I said to come here. I just held my arms out to her and picked her up.

“It was a crazy moment. She only had a long black T-shirt on that came down to her ankles. The T-shirt was wet. She said she was cold and somebody was chasing her and she ran. At that moment I called 911. I would wish someone would do that for me if my child was in that situation.”

Myers and Chitwood believe the child was dropped off at the playground because of the condition of her bare feet.

“There were no cuts on her feet,” Myers said. “It was very dark. The ground was wet. She was cold, wet and shivering. I kept rubbing her because she was so cold. She reminded me of my daughter so much. She is the same size. When I picked her up, she reminded me of her.”

Nelson and his wife are in process of adopting the two children they have fostered for two years, Machia, 5, and Gary, 3.

“It didn’t surprise me when I heard he was so courageous and heroic,” Janie said. “He’s a wonderful adoptive father of our children. He wrapped the little girl in his coat and that is characteristic of him.”

Chitwood described the weather conditions when the child was found as “cold, rainy and drizzly,” estimating the temperature was below 40 degrees.

“It’s lucky that (Myers) stopped,” Chitwood said. “Sometimes people don’t stop because they don’t want to get involved. He got involved and we are able to say the kid is alive and well.”

According to Chitwood, the investigation into the abduction is being handled by the Philadelphia Police Department.

“She had to be placed in that playground,” Chitwood said. “We processed the area as a crime scene.”

Chitwood said he predicted the missing child would be found in Upper Darby moments before he received the early morning call of the girl being located in the 69th Street Athletic Association field playground.

“I was at the gym and I said to the guy next to me, ‘I’ll bet they find the little girl in Upper Darby,’” Chitwood said. “All roads lead to Upper Darby. Whenever anything happens in West Philadelphia, it seems to end up in Upper Darby. (Philadelphia) homicide division and West detectives are always in here.”

The girl was transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for examination.

Darby said the child had no visible signs of injury at an afternoon press conference.

“She is still being screened for possible sexual assault,” Darby said, citing the lack of clothing when the child was found.

“We believe the female that entered the school was a stranger,” Darby said. “We believe no vehicle was used. It appears it was not a random act. It appears this child was a target by a woman who knew what to do and who to see. She went to the child’s classroom and asked for the child by name.”

Darby is asking any members of the community at large who have any information on the abductors or incident to call 215-685-3251.

“We’re interested in finding and apprehending the person who took this child,” Darby said.

Fernando Gallard, a spokesman for the school district, said the district is investigating the abduction. Under the school’s policy, he said, the woman should have signed in at the door and then gone straight to the office — not the classroom. “The exchange does not happen at the classroom level,” he said.

The district is investigating the incident and reviewing its policies with school employees, Gallard said. In a different incident at the same school, three 10- and 11-year-old boys were charged in November 2011 after reportedly sexually assaulting another boy in the restroom.